Iran, Taliban engage in border skirmishes

Taliban confirmed the incident took place but declined to provide details

DUBAI:

Iran's border forces and Afghanistan's Taliban ended clashes over a "border misunderstanding" near the Afghan province of Nimroz, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said on Wednesday.

"The clashes ended and Iran is discussing the dispute over the border with the Taliban," Tasnim said, adding that reports over the capture of an Iranian border camp by the Taliban were false.

The Taliban's deputy spokesperson Bilal Karimi was quoted by Afghan television station Tolo News confirming the incident took place but declining to provide details.

"He said the clashes had stopped and did not provide information about their cause," the station said in a tweet.

Although the Iranian government has had generally good relations with the Taliban, there have been longstanding tensions along the border, which has active smuggling routes and thousands of refugees crossing every day.